The July issue of Medical Law Perspectives is dedicated to the topic of “Organ Transplants: Saving Lives, Facing Risks, Minimizing Complications.” Phil Cook and I are featured, with a piece on “How Can the Shortage of Kidneys for Transplantation Be Rectified?” (sorry, subscription required).
Here’s a bit from the text:
Recent innovations in immunosuppression, kidney matching algorithms, kidney swaps, and NEAD (nonsimultaneous, extended, altruistic donor) chains provide great hope. Yet, so far none of these mechanisms is sufficiently developed to make a serious dent in the kidney shortage. . . .
For all of these reasons, we believe the time is ripe to reconsider inducements to kidney donation, and financial inducements in particular. Granted, pure “cash for kidneys” proposals are unlikely to garner popular support at this juncture, as evidenced by public opinion polls and the federal government’s reaction to incentives for bone marrow donations. . . .But an open market in kidneys is not the only option. Instead, any incentive system should build on the existing transplant frameworks and methods that already enjoy widespread acceptance. In particular, it would make sense to continue with a system where a government agency procures kidneys from carefully vetted donors and distributes them to transplant patients according to priority established by medical need. The main change is that the government agency would be in a position to provide some financial compensation to donors. . . .
For those interested in the topic, see also our recent article in Law & Contemporary Problems, A Primer on Kidney Transplantation: Anatomy of The Shortage.
The full slate of expert commentary from Medical Law Perspectives is below:
Expert Analysis
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What Proof Is Needed for a Transplant Malpractice Action? Robert D. Kreisman, JD
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How Can the Shortage of Kidneys for Transplantation Be Rectified? Philip J. Cook, Ph.D; Kimberly D. Krawiec, JD
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What Factors Impact the Success of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation? Hugo Fernandez, MD |
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